1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an auxiliary tailboard assembly for a drop-down tailgate that can be brought into vertical position to confine a load on the tailgate after the goods have been loaded.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Pickup trucks and other vehicles such as station wagons and some sport utility vehicles have a bed for carrying a load and a drop-down tailgate for retaining the load on the bed. Such vehicles are used to carry a wide variety of objects, such as furniture, appliances, lumber, tools and other bulky items. There are often times when the length of the load is greater than the length of the vehicle bed. In such a case, the tailgate may be left in a lowered or horizontal position to accommodate the longer load. When the tailgate is in the lowered position, however, the load is no longer confined by the tailgate and there is a possibility that the load may roll out and become lost, in addition to creating a hazard for other vehicles that follow behind.
There are many attachments proposed for extending the length of a vehicle bed. Some of them have panels that slide or fold out from the tailgate or from the truck bed for extending the effective length of the tailgate. Others provide panels that do not extend the length of the tailgate but are hinged along the top edge of the tailgate, providing an auxiliary tailboard. The attachments described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,501,500, 5,468,038, 5,456,511, 5,478,130, 4,932,703, 4,889,378, 4,778,213, 4,531,773, 4,472,639, 4,023,850, 2,729,499, 2,712,470 and 1,953,084 are representative of the prior art. The patents describe attachments that require the user to fold out the attachment before the goods are loaded as the load otherwise gets in the way of using the attachment. Some of the attachments extend the vehicle bed but do not confine the goods at the rear. Those that are pivoted to the top edge of the tailgate with a piano hinge or a pair of pivot pins may shear under load if the vehicle accelerates quickly or if the goods roll.
What is needed is an attachment for a tailgate, with excellent strength and rigidity, that allows a user to bring an auxiliary tailboard into vertical position after the goods are loaded, as an afterthought, if required.